Micra, Tiida SSS under cloud

THE big questions remaining on Nissan Australia’s marketing agenda concern the raft of prospective new models, from the Micra or Note minis to a SSS-branded sports hatch, the Qashqai small 4WD and, ultimately, the high-performance GT-R.

Marketing general manager Ross Booth told GoAuto last week that these models, and some others, were still "on the cards".

However, the constant message emerging from Nissan Australia is that they must be the right cars and the right price, despite the fact that it has no light car entrant or a small SUV that sits alongside the X-Trail.

Nissan currently has six Micras under evaluation in Australia but is no closer to signing off on a business case for their introduction here.

A "halo" high-performance Tiida model was also part of Nissan’s future but Mr Booth said any such car would need to have a "credible" engine and suspension to be passed off as a performance hatch.

At last year’s Sydney motor show Nissan showed off the SSS three-door concept car to gauge public reaction, which was positive.

Widespread enthusiasm for the new GT-R, already shown in its final concept form, has also buoyed Nissan but that car, which will be a global vehicle, will not be available until 2008 and Australia has not yet been confirmed as a market by Nissan headquarters.

Mr Booth said the Livina Geniss people-mover was also under consideration, even though the five-seater was initially dismissed.

In the long-term, the luxury Infiniti range also remains a possibility, but Mr Booth said Nissan Australia was under no pressure to introduce it despite the fact that Nissan Japan has indicated Infiniti is now a global brand. "We’ll only do it if we can have a sustainable business," he said.

At this stage, it appears that it does not.